Survey: People watch Netflix on a TV & Hulu on a computer. Mobile? Not so much

Many TVs for sale these days are Internet-connected, offering the ability to watch online services such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and others. The same goes for Blu-ray players.

All three of the major game consoles provide similar online video capabilities. And then there are the standalone Internet video devices, such as Apple TV, Roku and Boxee Box.

You’d think that, with all this rampant connectivity, that a lot of people would be streaming Netflix and Hulu to their glorious, big-screen, HDTVs. But how they watch depends on the service.

A new survey by Nielsen shows a majority of Netflix users are using TVs with the service. Only 42 percent watch Netflix’s movies and TV shows on a computer.

But those who enjoy Hulu – which offers primarily TV shows – overwhelmingly do so on a traditional computer. Nielsen’s survey says only 11 percent watch the service via TV.

The numbers are even smaller for mobile devices. Only 3 percent of Netflix subscribers and 2 percent of Hulu viewers are watching via mobile phones. On the iPad, it’s 3 percent for Netflix and 1 percent for Hulu. (Nielsen didn’t break out non-Apple tablets.)

Some of this may have to do with the availability of the apps for each service. For example, Netflix apps are available for more connected TV and Blu-ray player brands than Hulu apps. In addition, while Hulu has some movies, its emphasis is on television shows, which many people already access via cable and DVRs. Netflix’s emphasis is movies, and its television content is generally older.

That jibes with another data point Nielsen reported: People tend to watch movies on Netflix and TV shows on Hulu.

Most interesting is the fact that 36 percent of Netflix users watch movies and TV shows equally. I certainly fall into that category.

Now that I have an Internet-connected TV, I very seldom watch Netflix on my computers. When I am traveling, I occasionally watch it on my iPad or my notebook. I’m not a Hulu subscriber, because it offers nothing to me that I can’t already capture with my DVR.

Are you a Netflix and/or Hulu subscriber? If so, how do you access these services?